Operations

Russia has sent Syrian President Bashar Assad’s forces advanced anti-ship cruise missiles, the New York Times reported, in the latest sign Moscow will continue to help Assad’s regime militarily.

Russia had previously provided the anti-ship cruise missiles, Yakhonts, to the Syrians, but the latest shipment includes advanced radar technology, according to the Times, which cited unnamed American officials.

“It’s a real ship killer,” Nick Brown, editor in chief of IHS Jane’s International Defense Review, told the Times.

A massive car bomb ripped through an American convoy traveling through downtown Kabul on Thursday, killing 16 people including six American military advisers. 

Hezb-i-Islami, a militant faction of the Afghan insurgency allied with the Taliban, claimed responsibility for the bombing, according to The New York Times. 

Lack of control by Kabul over Afghan special forces and a misunderstanding of the political nuances surrounding Wardak province led to the ouster of American special operations troops from the restive area in central Afghanistan. 

Four American soldiers were killed in southern Afghanistan on Tuesday as U.S. and coalition forces dig in for the final fighting season of the over decade-long war. 

Three NATO troops were killed on Monday when Taliban insurgents set off a truck bomb at an alliance outpost in Southern Afghanistan. 

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U.S. commanders are keeping a key anti-missile weapon system in Guam on alert for possible North Korean attacks, despite the recent lull in tensions between Washington and Pyongyang. 

The man, Ahmed Abassi, allegedly plotted to derail a New York-bound train near the Canadian border. 

Afghan president Hamid Karzai wants to cap the number of American bases in Afghanistan after the U.S. military withdraws from the country in 2014, setting the stage for a final postwar troop presence.

The top investigator at Strategic Command has been ordered to review mistakes in the Air Force's nuclear enterprise that led to the termination of 17 service officials this week. 

NATO leaders are launching an inquiry into allegations of misconduct by the alliance's special forces in southern Afghanistan.